Instead of investing 4EVs in defense consider investing in speed as you'll, at least, outspeed uninvested neutral 80 base speed.
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Battle Tree Discussion and Records
- Thread starter Eisenherz
- Start date
Posting here to report my streak of 250 in Super Singles.
The Team:
Gyarados@Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate (Mold Breaker)
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Hp
31/31/31/x/31/31
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Substitute
Aegislash@Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Nature: Brave
EVs: 252 Hp, 252 Atk, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/x/31/27
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- King’s Shield
Garchomp@Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/2x/31/31
- Flamethrower
- Poison Jab
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Strategy:
This team draws some inspiration from The Dutch Plumberjack ’s Battle Maison team, and it continues to work well in the tree. The lack of Gliscor really hurts, and while Garchomp provides similar type synergy to the team, the two are quite different in the sort of roles they play, and I’m not really sure he’s as reliable.
Gyarados leads, and ideally is able to Sub down and set up for a clean sweep. This does not happen nearly as often as one might hope, and shuffling Gyarados and Aegislash in order to stack Intimidates and PP stall tends to be the norm, especially against the myriad of Pokemon that pack both Earthquake and a rock move. Often these Pokemon have no other means of attacking Aegislash effectively once they run out of EQs, so Aegislash is able to setup freely. As such, it is important not to Mega Evolve Gyarados until it is necessary or I feel confident enough to set up and sweep. Electric leads are buried or scared off by an immediate Garchomp switch.
Substitute is necessary on Gyarados to deflect status that might otherwise interrupt a setup, and the AI is only all too happy to spam them if Sub is not up. Waterfall and Crunch provide decent coverage together, although Crunch’s damage output is quite low without the mega evolution.
Aegislash’s coverage blows with only Iron Head and Shadow Sneak, but he doesn’t really need it. There are so many Pokemon in the tree Aegislash can set up on and get three SDs with little to no risk, and nothing is immune to Iron Head. Watching a Pokemon Choice-locked in to Stone Edge run out of PP and switch out only for the switch in to eat a +4/+6 Iron Head is…amusing to say the least.
Ideally Garchomp never even has to come in; Gyarados and Aegislash are usually sufficient to PP stall out troublesome opponents and set up. However, he’s important for absorbing electric attacks, which otherwise give the other two problems. Earthquake and Outrage are the go-to moves, although I really hate using Outrage early for obvious reasons. Dragon Claw was an option I considered, but the loss in power is too significant. Poison Jab is niche, and was only used against Whimsicott, Shiinotic, and weakened Grasses in situations I didn’t feel comfortable firing off an Outrage. Flamethrower may seem like a weird choice, but without it this team is completely walled by Ferrothorn-4, who would otherwise be able to Curse up and sweep.
Speaking of Curse, that move seems to be one of the biggest weaknesses of this team, and was a contributing factor to how I lost. Another general weakness of this team is that none of the members can absorb a burn. Gyarados can sub against slower Will-o-wisp users (and doesn’t have to worry about Prankster in mega form), and if one of them absolutely has to take a burn, it will usually be Aegislash.
Threats:
Ninetales-1: Only an issue if it leads. It can outspeed and burn Gyarados, and it packs Hex so Aegislash can’t really deal with it either. The “safest” play is probably just to eat the burn with Gyarados, sub, mega evolve, and try to get in as many DD as possible.
Alakazam-4: I pretty much have to just mega evolve immediately and hopefully take a Psychic instead of Grass Knot, and go for the knockout with Crunch. Grass Knot is survivable, but puts me in the reds.
Gyarados-4: It’s Jolly so it outpaces my own Gyarados, and will eventually beat it down and sweep the rest of my team. Switching in Garchomp immediately would be a “safe” option if Gyarados-3 didn’t exist, who has Ice Fang.
Gardevoir-4: Was initially pretty troublesome to deal with, especially since it has an annoying tendency to Shadow Ball in to an Aegislash switch, which I cannot figure out at all. Surely Hyper Beam or Psychic would be better options to use against the lead Gyarados? I later found out I can just mega evolve and Sub, as I can be reasonably sure Focus Blast isn’t coming out, and if either of the other attacks are used I get a free DD next turn and can freely knock it out on the next.
Gastrodon-4: The Pokemon that contributed to this team’s loss at battle 251. Same sort of deal as Ferrothorn-4, except Garchomp can’t switch in immediately and dispatch it.
Regigigas-1/2: Mostly minor annoyances, but can be dangerous if you have bad luck hitting through 1’s Double Teams. Regigigas-2 involves a Garchomp switch in, Outrage until confused, then hopefully Aegislash can finish it off.
Ferrothorn-4: I mentioned this already, and this is the Pokemon that handed this team its first loss at battle 49 before this streak was obtained. If Seed Bomb was a contact move Aegislash could probably wall it if its Curse use got out of control, but alas.
Primarina-all: Primarina is just frustrating to deal with in general. It hits like a truck, resists both Gyarados’s STABs, Aegislash can’t wall it well, and switching in Garchomp is dicey. If nothing is set up, my only option is to weaken it, and have Garchomp revenge kill with Poison Jab.
Drampa-3: Similar to Gardevoir in that it was a big problem until I figured out how to properly deal with it. Hyper Voice goes through Sub, as I was reminded a couple times throughout my run, and Quick Claw shenanigans can put an end to a Garchomp or Aegislash kill. I figured out I could just PP stall out Fire Blast with King’s Shield and Gyarados switch ins, and set up with Aegislash once that was done. If it’s Drampa-4, Aegislash can deal with that too.
Note that these are mostly only threatening if they lead, as I’ll often have either Gyarados or Aegislash set up by the time the second and third of my opponent’s Pokemon show up. Also, these are only the threats that I actually encountered and gave me a hard time; I’m sure there are many more that I did not run in to as leads (or at all), or have forgotten about.
How I lost:
Unfortunately, it won’t let me upload the Battle Video for some reason.
Battle 251 was against Scientist Cadel, who specializes in slow Pokemon, many of which have Trick Room. Trick Room itself isn’t really a huge problem for this team, as Aegislash can easily play around it, but I made an unfortunate misplay with Garchomp that costed me the game.
Gyarados leads, while Cadel leads with Gastrodon-4. Sub to scout the moveset, and I knew that this battle was going to be a problem as soon as it started using Curse. I have little choice but to keep pace with its boosts. It takes a break from Curse to break my sub with two Waterfalls, and I play scared and sub again, when I probably should have just DD’d again. After five boosts, I mega evolve and go for Crunch, sub breaks again from EQ, and the second Crunch leaves it with just a sliver of health (thx lefties), and Gyarados is down.
Garchomp comes in, and this is the turn that ultimately lost me the match. For some reason, I did not think EQ would be sufficient in finishing it with its +4 Def, so I Outrage instead. Doing the calcs after the fact, it turns out EQ would have been enough. It picks up the knockout, but in comes Slowking-4, who survives an Outrage and sets up Trick Room. Probably the one of the few times I wished Outrage-lock ended after the second turn. Garchomp is felled by an Ice Beam, and Aegislash comes in to finish off Slowking with Shadow Sneak. Cadel’s last Pokemon winds up being Turtonator-4, who mops up Aegislash in short order.
It’s really frustrating to lose when it was completely preventable like that, but it was probably overdue for me at that point. Overall I’m happy I managed to get to 200 pre-bank, and can take a break for now. Unfortunately, I could not fulfill my secondary objective during this streak, and that was to find a Multis partner I was satisfied with. I wanted someone who led with either Mega Metagross or Gyarados with Intimidate + a decent mon in as a secondary. Failing that, any two powerful Pokemon that use accurate moves. I wanted Guzma too for novelty purposes, but I have yet to run in to him. I fight Kiawe, Cynthia, and Colress more times than I care to count, yet never Guzma and Dexio, and only fought Anabel once. I want to think it’s coincidence, but maybe they have different probabilities of showing up.
Replays:
CRSG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXL: Another example of Outrage causing me problems.
P8ZG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXF: Battle 200, otherwise nothing special about it.
F4MW-WWWW-WWW4-3GWC: Example of Gardevoir-4 using Shadow Ball into Aegislash switch in. If my opponent had Primarina, I probably would have lost this.
ZUKW-WWWW-WWW4-3FRS: Battle 230 Drampa-3 nonsense. The run should have ended here.
The Team:
Ability: Intimidate (Mold Breaker)
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Hp
31/31/31/x/31/31
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Substitute
Ability: Stance Change
Nature: Brave
EVs: 252 Hp, 252 Atk, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/x/31/27
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- King’s Shield
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/2x/31/31
- Flamethrower
- Poison Jab
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Strategy:
This team draws some inspiration from The Dutch Plumberjack ’s Battle Maison team, and it continues to work well in the tree. The lack of Gliscor really hurts, and while Garchomp provides similar type synergy to the team, the two are quite different in the sort of roles they play, and I’m not really sure he’s as reliable.
Gyarados leads, and ideally is able to Sub down and set up for a clean sweep. This does not happen nearly as often as one might hope, and shuffling Gyarados and Aegislash in order to stack Intimidates and PP stall tends to be the norm, especially against the myriad of Pokemon that pack both Earthquake and a rock move. Often these Pokemon have no other means of attacking Aegislash effectively once they run out of EQs, so Aegislash is able to setup freely. As such, it is important not to Mega Evolve Gyarados until it is necessary or I feel confident enough to set up and sweep. Electric leads are buried or scared off by an immediate Garchomp switch.
Substitute is necessary on Gyarados to deflect status that might otherwise interrupt a setup, and the AI is only all too happy to spam them if Sub is not up. Waterfall and Crunch provide decent coverage together, although Crunch’s damage output is quite low without the mega evolution.
Aegislash’s coverage blows with only Iron Head and Shadow Sneak, but he doesn’t really need it. There are so many Pokemon in the tree Aegislash can set up on and get three SDs with little to no risk, and nothing is immune to Iron Head. Watching a Pokemon Choice-locked in to Stone Edge run out of PP and switch out only for the switch in to eat a +4/+6 Iron Head is…amusing to say the least.
Ideally Garchomp never even has to come in; Gyarados and Aegislash are usually sufficient to PP stall out troublesome opponents and set up. However, he’s important for absorbing electric attacks, which otherwise give the other two problems. Earthquake and Outrage are the go-to moves, although I really hate using Outrage early for obvious reasons. Dragon Claw was an option I considered, but the loss in power is too significant. Poison Jab is niche, and was only used against Whimsicott, Shiinotic, and weakened Grasses in situations I didn’t feel comfortable firing off an Outrage. Flamethrower may seem like a weird choice, but without it this team is completely walled by Ferrothorn-4, who would otherwise be able to Curse up and sweep.
Speaking of Curse, that move seems to be one of the biggest weaknesses of this team, and was a contributing factor to how I lost. Another general weakness of this team is that none of the members can absorb a burn. Gyarados can sub against slower Will-o-wisp users (and doesn’t have to worry about Prankster in mega form), and if one of them absolutely has to take a burn, it will usually be Aegislash.
Threats:
Ninetales-1: Only an issue if it leads. It can outspeed and burn Gyarados, and it packs Hex so Aegislash can’t really deal with it either. The “safest” play is probably just to eat the burn with Gyarados, sub, mega evolve, and try to get in as many DD as possible.
Alakazam-4: I pretty much have to just mega evolve immediately and hopefully take a Psychic instead of Grass Knot, and go for the knockout with Crunch. Grass Knot is survivable, but puts me in the reds.
Gyarados-4: It’s Jolly so it outpaces my own Gyarados, and will eventually beat it down and sweep the rest of my team. Switching in Garchomp immediately would be a “safe” option if Gyarados-3 didn’t exist, who has Ice Fang.
Gardevoir-4: Was initially pretty troublesome to deal with, especially since it has an annoying tendency to Shadow Ball in to an Aegislash switch, which I cannot figure out at all. Surely Hyper Beam or Psychic would be better options to use against the lead Gyarados? I later found out I can just mega evolve and Sub, as I can be reasonably sure Focus Blast isn’t coming out, and if either of the other attacks are used I get a free DD next turn and can freely knock it out on the next.
Gastrodon-4: The Pokemon that contributed to this team’s loss at battle 251. Same sort of deal as Ferrothorn-4, except Garchomp can’t switch in immediately and dispatch it.
Regigigas-1/2: Mostly minor annoyances, but can be dangerous if you have bad luck hitting through 1’s Double Teams. Regigigas-2 involves a Garchomp switch in, Outrage until confused, then hopefully Aegislash can finish it off.
Ferrothorn-4: I mentioned this already, and this is the Pokemon that handed this team its first loss at battle 49 before this streak was obtained. If Seed Bomb was a contact move Aegislash could probably wall it if its Curse use got out of control, but alas.
Primarina-all: Primarina is just frustrating to deal with in general. It hits like a truck, resists both Gyarados’s STABs, Aegislash can’t wall it well, and switching in Garchomp is dicey. If nothing is set up, my only option is to weaken it, and have Garchomp revenge kill with Poison Jab.
Drampa-3: Similar to Gardevoir in that it was a big problem until I figured out how to properly deal with it. Hyper Voice goes through Sub, as I was reminded a couple times throughout my run, and Quick Claw shenanigans can put an end to a Garchomp or Aegislash kill. I figured out I could just PP stall out Fire Blast with King’s Shield and Gyarados switch ins, and set up with Aegislash once that was done. If it’s Drampa-4, Aegislash can deal with that too.
Note that these are mostly only threatening if they lead, as I’ll often have either Gyarados or Aegislash set up by the time the second and third of my opponent’s Pokemon show up. Also, these are only the threats that I actually encountered and gave me a hard time; I’m sure there are many more that I did not run in to as leads (or at all), or have forgotten about.
How I lost:
Unfortunately, it won’t let me upload the Battle Video for some reason.
Battle 251 was against Scientist Cadel, who specializes in slow Pokemon, many of which have Trick Room. Trick Room itself isn’t really a huge problem for this team, as Aegislash can easily play around it, but I made an unfortunate misplay with Garchomp that costed me the game.
Gyarados leads, while Cadel leads with Gastrodon-4. Sub to scout the moveset, and I knew that this battle was going to be a problem as soon as it started using Curse. I have little choice but to keep pace with its boosts. It takes a break from Curse to break my sub with two Waterfalls, and I play scared and sub again, when I probably should have just DD’d again. After five boosts, I mega evolve and go for Crunch, sub breaks again from EQ, and the second Crunch leaves it with just a sliver of health (thx lefties), and Gyarados is down.
Garchomp comes in, and this is the turn that ultimately lost me the match. For some reason, I did not think EQ would be sufficient in finishing it with its +4 Def, so I Outrage instead. Doing the calcs after the fact, it turns out EQ would have been enough. It picks up the knockout, but in comes Slowking-4, who survives an Outrage and sets up Trick Room. Probably the one of the few times I wished Outrage-lock ended after the second turn. Garchomp is felled by an Ice Beam, and Aegislash comes in to finish off Slowking with Shadow Sneak. Cadel’s last Pokemon winds up being Turtonator-4, who mops up Aegislash in short order.
It’s really frustrating to lose when it was completely preventable like that, but it was probably overdue for me at that point. Overall I’m happy I managed to get to 200 pre-bank, and can take a break for now. Unfortunately, I could not fulfill my secondary objective during this streak, and that was to find a Multis partner I was satisfied with. I wanted someone who led with either Mega Metagross or Gyarados with Intimidate + a decent mon in as a secondary. Failing that, any two powerful Pokemon that use accurate moves. I wanted Guzma too for novelty purposes, but I have yet to run in to him. I fight Kiawe, Cynthia, and Colress more times than I care to count, yet never Guzma and Dexio, and only fought Anabel once. I want to think it’s coincidence, but maybe they have different probabilities of showing up.
Replays:
CRSG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXL: Another example of Outrage causing me problems.
P8ZG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXF: Battle 200, otherwise nothing special about it.
F4MW-WWWW-WWW4-3GWC: Example of Gardevoir-4 using Shadow Ball into Aegislash switch in. If my opponent had Primarina, I probably would have lost this.
ZUKW-WWWW-WWW4-3FRS: Battle 230 Drampa-3 nonsense. The run should have ended here.
I wouldn't use Timid and 252 speed with Vikavolt's low speed stat (without Agility), so I probably would run a Modest one and invest some of the IV's on bulk. Plus, having a lower speed is a boon if the other team manages to set up Trick Room.
Does this set sound good? I've considered discharge because garchomp immunity and paralysis chance.
Vikavolt @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt/Discharge
- Bug Buzz
- Flash Cannon
- Energy Ball
It looks good, although I'm not really sure whether Thunderbolt or Discharge would work well.
I think you could have won by Intimidate switching the Gastrodon to keep the attack power in check. Switch to Aegislash as soon as you see Curse. King's Shield for a turn to stall an EQ PP, then free switch back to Gyarados on the second EQ. Immediately go back to Aegislash the following turn and it will probably eat a Waterfall or Curse boost. Either way, King's Shield then go back to Gyarados. EQ PP will be spent after 5 cycles and you will be free to -6 the Gastrodon attack with King's Shield while it uses Waterfall. The AI will stop using Curse once Def reaches +6.Posting here to report my streak of 250 in Super Singles.
The Team:
Gyarados@Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate (Mold Breaker)
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Hp
31/31/31/x/31/31
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Substitute
Aegislash@Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Nature: Brave
EVs: 252 Hp, 252 Atk, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/x/31/27
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- King’s Shield
Garchomp@Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/2x/31/31
- Flamethrower
- Poison Jab
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Strategy:
This team draws some inspiration from The Dutch Plumberjack ’s Battle Maison team, and it continues to work well in the tree. The lack of Gliscor really hurts, and while Garchomp provides similar type synergy to the team, the two are quite different in the sort of roles they play, and I’m not really sure he’s as reliable.
Gyarados leads, and ideally is able to Sub down and set up for a clean sweep. This does not happen nearly as often as one might hope, and shuffling Gyarados and Aegislash in order to stack Intimidates and PP stall tends to be the norm, especially against the myriad of Pokemon that pack both Earthquake and a rock move. Often these Pokemon have no other means of attacking Aegislash effectively once they run out of EQs, so Aegislash is able to setup freely. As such, it is important not to Mega Evolve Gyarados until it is necessary or I feel confident enough to set up and sweep. Electric leads are buried or scared off by an immediate Garchomp switch.
Substitute is necessary on Gyarados to deflect status that might otherwise interrupt a setup, and the AI is only all too happy to spam them if Sub is not up. Waterfall and Crunch provide decent coverage together, although Crunch’s damage output is quite low without the mega evolution.
Aegislash’s coverage blows with only Iron Head and Shadow Sneak, but he doesn’t really need it. There are so many Pokemon in the tree Aegislash can set up on and get three SDs with little to no risk, and nothing is immune to Iron Head. Watching a Pokemon Choice-locked in to Stone Edge run out of PP and switch out only for the switch in to eat a +4/+6 Iron Head is…amusing to say the least.
Ideally Garchomp never even has to come in; Gyarados and Aegislash are usually sufficient to PP stall out troublesome opponents and set up. However, he’s important for absorbing electric attacks, which otherwise give the other two problems. Earthquake and Outrage are the go-to moves, although I really hate using Outrage early for obvious reasons. Dragon Claw was an option I considered, but the loss in power is too significant. Poison Jab is niche, and was only used against Whimsicott, Shiinotic, and weakened Grasses in situations I didn’t feel comfortable firing off an Outrage. Flamethrower may seem like a weird choice, but without it this team is completely walled by Ferrothorn-4, who would otherwise be able to Curse up and sweep.
Speaking of Curse, that move seems to be one of the biggest weaknesses of this team, and was a contributing factor to how I lost. Another general weakness of this team is that none of the members can absorb a burn. Gyarados can sub against slower Will-o-wisp users (and doesn’t have to worry about Prankster in mega form), and if one of them absolutely has to take a burn, it will usually be Aegislash.
Threats:
Ninetales-1: Only an issue if it leads. It can outspeed and burn Gyarados, and it packs Hex so Aegislash can’t really deal with it either. The “safest” play is probably just to eat the burn with Gyarados, sub, mega evolve, and try to get in as many DD as possible.
Alakazam-4: I pretty much have to just mega evolve immediately and hopefully take a Psychic instead of Grass Knot, and go for the knockout with Crunch. Grass Knot is survivable, but puts me in the reds.
Gyarados-4: It’s Jolly so it outpaces my own Gyarados, and will eventually beat it down and sweep the rest of my team. Switching in Garchomp immediately would be a “safe” option if Gyarados-3 didn’t exist, who has Ice Fang.
Gardevoir-4: Was initially pretty troublesome to deal with, especially since it has an annoying tendency to Shadow Ball in to an Aegislash switch, which I cannot figure out at all. Surely Hyper Beam or Psychic would be better options to use against the lead Gyarados? I later found out I can just mega evolve and Sub, as I can be reasonably sure Focus Blast isn’t coming out, and if either of the other attacks are used I get a free DD next turn and can freely knock it out on the next.
Gastrodon-4: The Pokemon that contributed to this team’s loss at battle 251. Same sort of deal as Ferrothorn-4, except Garchomp can’t switch in immediately and dispatch it.
Regigigas-1/2: Mostly minor annoyances, but can be dangerous if you have bad luck hitting through 1’s Double Teams. Regigigas-2 involves a Garchomp switch in, Outrage until confused, then hopefully Aegislash can finish it off.
Ferrothorn-4: I mentioned this already, and this is the Pokemon that handed this team its first loss at battle 49 before this streak was obtained. If Seed Bomb was a contact move Aegislash could probably wall it if its Curse use got out of control, but alas.
Primarina-all: Primarina is just frustrating to deal with in general. It hits like a truck, resists both Gyarados’s STABs, Aegislash can’t wall it well, and switching in Garchomp is dicey. If nothing is set up, my only option is to weaken it, and have Garchomp revenge kill with Poison Jab.
Drampa-3: Similar to Gardevoir in that it was a big problem until I figured out how to properly deal with it. Hyper Voice goes through Sub, as I was reminded a couple times throughout my run, and Quick Claw shenanigans can put an end to a Garchomp or Aegislash kill. I figured out I could just PP stall out Fire Blast with King’s Shield and Gyarados switch ins, and set up with Aegislash once that was done. If it’s Drampa-4, Aegislash can deal with that too.
Note that these are mostly only threatening if they lead, as I’ll often have either Gyarados or Aegislash set up by the time the second and third of my opponent’s Pokemon show up. Also, these are only the threats that I actually encountered and gave me a hard time; I’m sure there are many more that I did not run in to as leads (or at all), or have forgotten about.
How I lost:
Unfortunately, it won’t let me upload the Battle Video for some reason.
Battle 251 was against Scientist Cadel, who specializes in slow Pokemon, many of which have Trick Room. Trick Room itself isn’t really a huge problem for this team, as Aegislash can easily play around it, but I made an unfortunate misplay with Garchomp that costed me the game.
Gyarados leads, while Cadel leads with Gastrodon-4. Sub to scout the moveset, and I knew that this battle was going to be a problem as soon as it started using Curse. I have little choice but to keep pace with its boosts. It takes a break from Curse to break my sub with two Waterfalls, and I play scared and sub again, when I probably should have just DD’d again. After five boosts, I mega evolve and go for Crunch, sub breaks again from EQ, and the second Crunch leaves it with just a sliver of health (thx lefties), and Gyarados is down.
Garchomp comes in, and this is the turn that ultimately lost me the match. For some reason, I did not think EQ would be sufficient in finishing it with its +4 Def, so I Outrage instead. Doing the calcs after the fact, it turns out EQ would have been enough. It picks up the knockout, but in comes Slowking-4, who survives an Outrage and sets up Trick Room. Probably the one of the few times I wished Outrage-lock ended after the second turn. Garchomp is felled by an Ice Beam, and Aegislash comes in to finish off Slowking with Shadow Sneak. Cadel’s last Pokemon winds up being Turtonator-4, who mops up Aegislash in short order.
It’s really frustrating to lose when it was completely preventable like that, but it was probably overdue for me at that point. Overall I’m happy I managed to get to 200 pre-bank, and can take a break for now. Unfortunately, I could not fulfill my secondary objective during this streak, and that was to find a Multis partner I was satisfied with. I wanted someone who led with either Mega Metagross or Gyarados with Intimidate + a decent mon in as a secondary. Failing that, any two powerful Pokemon that use accurate moves. I wanted Guzma too for novelty purposes, but I have yet to run in to him. I fight Kiawe, Cynthia, and Colress more times than I care to count, yet never Guzma and Dexio, and only fought Anabel once. I want to think it’s coincidence, but maybe they have different probabilities of showing up.
Replays:
CRSG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXL: Another example of Outrage causing me problems.
P8ZG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXF: Battle 200, otherwise nothing special about it.
F4MW-WWWW-WWW4-3GWC: Example of Gardevoir-4 using Shadow Ball into Aegislash switch in. If my opponent had Primarina, I probably would have lost this.
ZUKW-WWWW-WWW4-3FRS: Battle 230 Drampa-3 nonsense. The run should have ended here.
You could even skip the King's Shield with Aegislash as long as you don't need the Leftovers recovery and just go back and forth with Gyarados switches. It will only use EQ on Aegislash as long as it has PP, so you never have to worry about Gyarados taking an attack.
Guzma, Dexio, and Mallow are Moon exclusivePosting here to report my streak of 250 in Super Singles.
The Team:
Gyarados@Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate (Mold Breaker)
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Hp
31/31/31/x/31/31
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Substitute
Aegislash@Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Nature: Brave
EVs: 252 Hp, 252 Atk, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/x/31/27
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- King’s Shield
Garchomp@Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Sp. Def
31/31/31/2x/31/31
- Flamethrower
- Poison Jab
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Strategy:
This team draws some inspiration from The Dutch Plumberjack ’s Battle Maison team, and it continues to work well in the tree. The lack of Gliscor really hurts, and while Garchomp provides similar type synergy to the team, the two are quite different in the sort of roles they play, and I’m not really sure he’s as reliable.
Gyarados leads, and ideally is able to Sub down and set up for a clean sweep. This does not happen nearly as often as one might hope, and shuffling Gyarados and Aegislash in order to stack Intimidates and PP stall tends to be the norm, especially against the myriad of Pokemon that pack both Earthquake and a rock move. Often these Pokemon have no other means of attacking Aegislash effectively once they run out of EQs, so Aegislash is able to setup freely. As such, it is important not to Mega Evolve Gyarados until it is necessary or I feel confident enough to set up and sweep. Electric leads are buried or scared off by an immediate Garchomp switch.
Substitute is necessary on Gyarados to deflect status that might otherwise interrupt a setup, and the AI is only all too happy to spam them if Sub is not up. Waterfall and Crunch provide decent coverage together, although Crunch’s damage output is quite low without the mega evolution.
Aegislash’s coverage blows with only Iron Head and Shadow Sneak, but he doesn’t really need it. There are so many Pokemon in the tree Aegislash can set up on and get three SDs with little to no risk, and nothing is immune to Iron Head. Watching a Pokemon Choice-locked in to Stone Edge run out of PP and switch out only for the switch in to eat a +4/+6 Iron Head is…amusing to say the least.
Ideally Garchomp never even has to come in; Gyarados and Aegislash are usually sufficient to PP stall out troublesome opponents and set up. However, he’s important for absorbing electric attacks, which otherwise give the other two problems. Earthquake and Outrage are the go-to moves, although I really hate using Outrage early for obvious reasons. Dragon Claw was an option I considered, but the loss in power is too significant. Poison Jab is niche, and was only used against Whimsicott, Shiinotic, and weakened Grasses in situations I didn’t feel comfortable firing off an Outrage. Flamethrower may seem like a weird choice, but without it this team is completely walled by Ferrothorn-4, who would otherwise be able to Curse up and sweep.
Speaking of Curse, that move seems to be one of the biggest weaknesses of this team, and was a contributing factor to how I lost. Another general weakness of this team is that none of the members can absorb a burn. Gyarados can sub against slower Will-o-wisp users (and doesn’t have to worry about Prankster in mega form), and if one of them absolutely has to take a burn, it will usually be Aegislash.
Threats:
Ninetales-1: Only an issue if it leads. It can outspeed and burn Gyarados, and it packs Hex so Aegislash can’t really deal with it either. The “safest” play is probably just to eat the burn with Gyarados, sub, mega evolve, and try to get in as many DD as possible.
Alakazam-4: I pretty much have to just mega evolve immediately and hopefully take a Psychic instead of Grass Knot, and go for the knockout with Crunch. Grass Knot is survivable, but puts me in the reds.
Gyarados-4: It’s Jolly so it outpaces my own Gyarados, and will eventually beat it down and sweep the rest of my team. Switching in Garchomp immediately would be a “safe” option if Gyarados-3 didn’t exist, who has Ice Fang.
Gardevoir-4: Was initially pretty troublesome to deal with, especially since it has an annoying tendency to Shadow Ball in to an Aegislash switch, which I cannot figure out at all. Surely Hyper Beam or Psychic would be better options to use against the lead Gyarados? I later found out I can just mega evolve and Sub, as I can be reasonably sure Focus Blast isn’t coming out, and if either of the other attacks are used I get a free DD next turn and can freely knock it out on the next.
Gastrodon-4: The Pokemon that contributed to this team’s loss at battle 251. Same sort of deal as Ferrothorn-4, except Garchomp can’t switch in immediately and dispatch it.
Regigigas-1/2: Mostly minor annoyances, but can be dangerous if you have bad luck hitting through 1’s Double Teams. Regigigas-2 involves a Garchomp switch in, Outrage until confused, then hopefully Aegislash can finish it off.
Ferrothorn-4: I mentioned this already, and this is the Pokemon that handed this team its first loss at battle 49 before this streak was obtained. If Seed Bomb was a contact move Aegislash could probably wall it if its Curse use got out of control, but alas.
Primarina-all: Primarina is just frustrating to deal with in general. It hits like a truck, resists both Gyarados’s STABs, Aegislash can’t wall it well, and switching in Garchomp is dicey. If nothing is set up, my only option is to weaken it, and have Garchomp revenge kill with Poison Jab.
Drampa-3: Similar to Gardevoir in that it was a big problem until I figured out how to properly deal with it. Hyper Voice goes through Sub, as I was reminded a couple times throughout my run, and Quick Claw shenanigans can put an end to a Garchomp or Aegislash kill. I figured out I could just PP stall out Fire Blast with King’s Shield and Gyarados switch ins, and set up with Aegislash once that was done. If it’s Drampa-4, Aegislash can deal with that too.
Note that these are mostly only threatening if they lead, as I’ll often have either Gyarados or Aegislash set up by the time the second and third of my opponent’s Pokemon show up. Also, these are only the threats that I actually encountered and gave me a hard time; I’m sure there are many more that I did not run in to as leads (or at all), or have forgotten about.
How I lost:
Unfortunately, it won’t let me upload the Battle Video for some reason.
Battle 251 was against Scientist Cadel, who specializes in slow Pokemon, many of which have Trick Room. Trick Room itself isn’t really a huge problem for this team, as Aegislash can easily play around it, but I made an unfortunate misplay with Garchomp that costed me the game.
Gyarados leads, while Cadel leads with Gastrodon-4. Sub to scout the moveset, and I knew that this battle was going to be a problem as soon as it started using Curse. I have little choice but to keep pace with its boosts. It takes a break from Curse to break my sub with two Waterfalls, and I play scared and sub again, when I probably should have just DD’d again. After five boosts, I mega evolve and go for Crunch, sub breaks again from EQ, and the second Crunch leaves it with just a sliver of health (thx lefties), and Gyarados is down.
Garchomp comes in, and this is the turn that ultimately lost me the match. For some reason, I did not think EQ would be sufficient in finishing it with its +4 Def, so I Outrage instead. Doing the calcs after the fact, it turns out EQ would have been enough. It picks up the knockout, but in comes Slowking-4, who survives an Outrage and sets up Trick Room. Probably the one of the few times I wished Outrage-lock ended after the second turn. Garchomp is felled by an Ice Beam, and Aegislash comes in to finish off Slowking with Shadow Sneak. Cadel’s last Pokemon winds up being Turtonator-4, who mops up Aegislash in short order.
It’s really frustrating to lose when it was completely preventable like that, but it was probably overdue for me at that point. Overall I’m happy I managed to get to 200 pre-bank, and can take a break for now. Unfortunately, I could not fulfill my secondary objective during this streak, and that was to find a Multis partner I was satisfied with. I wanted someone who led with either Mega Metagross or Gyarados with Intimidate + a decent mon in as a secondary. Failing that, any two powerful Pokemon that use accurate moves. I wanted Guzma too for novelty purposes, but I have yet to run in to him. I fight Kiawe, Cynthia, and Colress more times than I care to count, yet never Guzma and Dexio, and only fought Anabel once. I want to think it’s coincidence, but maybe they have different probabilities of showing up.
Replays:
CRSG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXL: Another example of Outrage causing me problems.
P8ZG-WWWW-WWW4-3GXF: Battle 200, otherwise nothing special about it.
F4MW-WWWW-WWW4-3GWC: Example of Gardevoir-4 using Shadow Ball into Aegislash switch in. If my opponent had Primarina, I probably would have lost this.
ZUKW-WWWW-WWW4-3FRS: Battle 230 Drampa-3 nonsense. The run should have ended here.
Hello. After some IV breeding I am ready to make a go for the Battle Tree. Only issue at the moment is what to do about my Salamence. Alongside him, I'll have Scarf Lele to serve as a special attacker and revenge killer and Toxapex to be an all-round reliable wall that can shut down evasion boosters. The issue I am having is 4MSS:
Salamance @ Salamancite
Ability: Intimidate -> Aerialate
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Speed
-Return
-Dragon Dance
-Substitute
-Earthquake/Roost
Return and Dragon Dance can't really be negotiated. Return serves as the all-round reliable Flying stab and Dragon Dance is needed to net KOs, get around walls, and deal with fast threats and Scarfers. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized Substitue is vital for preventing status as I don't have room for a cleric and can't hold a Lum Berry. Which means I am left with Earthquake or Roost. Roost helps with making more subs and PP stalling on a physical attacker while Earthquake helps beat most Flying resists with Electric being a big one as I don't have anything to safely switch into Electric moves for Toxipex (Lele can take a Psychic move fire back with Shadow Ball while Salamence comes in on Earthquake). I would like input on which I should go with.
Salamance @ Salamancite
Ability: Intimidate -> Aerialate
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Speed
-Return
-Dragon Dance
-Substitute
-Earthquake/Roost
Return and Dragon Dance can't really be negotiated. Return serves as the all-round reliable Flying stab and Dragon Dance is needed to net KOs, get around walls, and deal with fast threats and Scarfers. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized Substitue is vital for preventing status as I don't have room for a cleric and can't hold a Lum Berry. Which means I am left with Earthquake or Roost. Roost helps with making more subs and PP stalling on a physical attacker while Earthquake helps beat most Flying resists with Electric being a big one as I don't have anything to safely switch into Electric moves for Toxipex (Lele can take a Psychic move fire back with Shadow Ball while Salamence comes in on Earthquake). I would like input on which I should go with.
Yeah, I never really thought to PP stall and shuffle Intimidates against boosting mons in general, as there doesn't really seem to be a pattern with when they boost and when they attack. You're right though in that there probably wouldn't have been any significant risks to doing it in this case, and some patience would have gone a long way. That's good to know about AI Curse use, I'll definitely keep that in mind for next time. I assume it's the same with DD, in that the AI will stop using it after they +6 Spd?
Huh. I assumed Kiawe and Mallow were version exclusives, but didn't know there were others. Thanks.
Please understand these are ideas. All feedback is appreciated.
1.] This is just R's team with a marginally different EV spread so that there's more defense on Salamence, and of course a cool Arcanine spread I'm figuring out.
This thought of using Arcanine came because it isn't necessarily weak to types like Water if it gets off a STAB 195 power Burn Up. Clearly I have to worry about being outsped, but this spread is my envisioning as of right now. I really like the idea of having Arcanine have recovery, but lowering speed or attack, or even protecting against status is also a really valuable niche.
1.) {NOT BRED YET; LOOKING FOR OPINIONS}
Lead (Arcanine) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Intimidate or Flash Fire [I have Intimidate but I'm always scared about Competitive and Defiant. Flash Fire could be valuable, though not likely.]
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 108 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Burn Up
- Snarl
- Toxic
- Morning Sun or Charm or Bulldoze or Safeguard
2.) {COMPLETED}
Sweeper (Salamence) (F) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
3.) {COMPLETED}
Stallbreaker (Aegislash) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 84 SpA / 156 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- King's Shield
OR
2.] Typical Hyper Offense with Mixed Phera with possible Taunt as an interesting support option
{BRED / WAITING FOR POKEBANK...}
Lead or Sweeper (Dragonite) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
{COMPLETED}
Sweeper (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt / Energy Ball
{CLUELESS ON HOW TO START}
Revenge Killer (Pheromosa) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 (Atk or SpA) / 4 (Atk or SpA) / 252 Spe
(Lonely or Mild) Nature
- Bug Buzz / Lunge
- Brick Break
- Ice Beam
- Taunt / Quiver Dance / Hidden Power Ghost
Please understand these are ideas. All feedback is appreciated.
1.] This is just R's team with a marginally different EV spread so that there's more defense on Salamence, and of course a cool Arcanine spread I'm figuring out.
This thought of using Arcanine came because it isn't necessarily weak to types like Water if it gets off a STAB 195 power Burn Up. Clearly I have to worry about being outsped, but this spread is my envisioning as of right now. I really like the idea of having Arcanine have recovery, but lowering speed or attack, or even protecting against status is also a really valuable niche.
1.) {NOT BRED YET; LOOKING FOR OPINIONS}
Lead (Arcanine) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Intimidate or Flash Fire [I have Intimidate but I'm always scared about Competitive and Defiant. Flash Fire could be valuable, though not likely.]
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 108 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Burn Up
- Snarl
- Toxic
- Morning Sun or Charm or Bulldoze or Safeguard
2.) {COMPLETED}
Sweeper (Salamence) (F) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
3.) {COMPLETED}
Stallbreaker (Aegislash) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 84 SpA / 156 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- King's Shield
OR
2.] Typical Hyper Offense with Mixed Phera with possible Taunt as an interesting support option
{BRED / WAITING FOR POKEBANK...}
Lead or Sweeper (Dragonite) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
{COMPLETED}
Sweeper (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt / Energy Ball
{CLUELESS ON HOW TO START}
Revenge Killer (Pheromosa) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 (Atk or SpA) / 4 (Atk or SpA) / 252 Spe
(Lonely or Mild) Nature
- Bug Buzz / Lunge
- Brick Break
- Ice Beam
- Taunt / Quiver Dance / Hidden Power Ghost
Please understand these are ideas. All feedback is appreciated.
Got the 50 win streak in all super modes. Didn't want to waste time so I used banded Buzzwole, specs Nihilego and mega Mence for super singles. Added Fightinium z Pheromosa for super doubles and got there without too much trouble,
though Blue with his mega Zam was pretty tough at battle 50.
Somehow managed to get the 50 win streak on Super multi on the first try. Used specs Nihilego and mega Mence with Wally and his beastly lead mega Gallade and adamant Garchomp.
Nihilego and mega Gallade had pretty much no trouble until battle 44-49 where the cpu consistently used perfect counter teams.
Barely got through to battle 50 with the skin of my teeth. Mega mence literally survived on only 2hp at the end of one of them. Thankfully Red and Blue on battle 50 were much easier and steam rolled them phew!
You couldn't pay me to do super multi again such was the intensity of battle 44 to 49. Lol it sounds trite but that's how it was. Anyway all done now thankfully :)
though Blue with his mega Zam was pretty tough at battle 50.
Somehow managed to get the 50 win streak on Super multi on the first try. Used specs Nihilego and mega Mence with Wally and his beastly lead mega Gallade and adamant Garchomp.
Nihilego and mega Gallade had pretty much no trouble until battle 44-49 where the cpu consistently used perfect counter teams.
Barely got through to battle 50 with the skin of my teeth. Mega mence literally survived on only 2hp at the end of one of them. Thankfully Red and Blue on battle 50 were much easier and steam rolled them phew!
You couldn't pay me to do super multi again such was the intensity of battle 44 to 49. Lol it sounds trite but that's how it was. Anyway all done now thankfully :)
While the concept of using Burn Up is nice, in practice, using Burn Up without uninvested SpA seems pointless. I've tested a similar set but had WoW instead of Toxic to completely shut down physical mons (so Mence could confortably set up substitute and sweep) and invested more in Speed and SpA. Initially, I ran Burn Up as well but with a bulkier EV spread Arcanine didn't mind staying longer on the field. As a result I replaced Burn Up for Fire Blast (w/ Wide Lens accuracy = 93,5% which isn't too bad) and had much better results. Main problems I faced was the imperfect accuracy on WoW (93,5% too), faster opponents w/ Rock Slide (flinching), and bulky water types (namely competitive Milotic and Walrein). While I had fun using Arcanine/Salamence core, on 50+ streaks it started to get much more unreliable.
That is my understanding based on some other posts. My team doesn't use Intimidate, so I haven't put it in practice yet.
Guys, I need some advice on my team, I'm on a 82 streak (not lost yet) and having problems with strong electric types. The most fearsome i've encountered was a thundurus with taunt that wrecks Dragonite strategy to boost. I use this :
Singles
Classic Dragon-Water-Steel
Dragonite @Lum Berry ---- Lead
Multiscale
Adamant 252 atk/ 252 speed/ 4 hp
Unaware
Calm 252 hp / 128 def / 128 spdef
Technician
Adamant 252 hp /252 atk/ 4 speed
Singles
Classic Dragon-Water-Steel
Dragonite @Lum Berry ---- Lead
Multiscale
Adamant 252 atk/ 252 speed/ 4 hp
- Dragon dance
- Outrage
- Fire punch
- Earthquake
Unaware
Calm 252 hp / 128 def / 128 spdef
- Soak
- Taunt / Protect
- Recover
- Toxic
Technician
Adamant 252 hp /252 atk/ 4 speed
- Bullet punch
- Brick break
- X-scissor
- Sword dance
Just in general you're weak to Electric and Poison Types. Dragonite's Earthquake is the only thing really covering those two weaknesses. Maybe something such as Storm Drain Gastrodon would help you?
Also for Scizor, Bug Bite is stronger than X-Scissor after a Technician boost. And this is preference, but I like Superpower much more over Brick Break.
Unless I missed the Poke Bank update, neither Bug Bite or Superpower are available.
As far as floating Electric-types go, I don't think Timid Vikavolt is such a bad idea. With a Timid Nature and 236 Speed EVs, it outruns a lot of pesky Pokemon such as Milotic-1, Milotic-3 and Milotic-4; sets 3 and 4 in particular can cause difficulties for Garchomp as it can't KO them outright with an Earthquake, so being able to outrun them to finish them off after Earthquake's chip damage with Thunderbolt isn't such a bad idea. Do note that Wally's Garchomp seems to like going for Sandstorm on turn 1, too, so it's nice to be able to take out some weaker things while it's wasting time on its own—a Timid Vikavolt can outrun and OHKO annoying threats like the Water starters.
What I would suggest, though, is to switch up the moveset a little - Flash Cannon seems rather extraneous, so Protect might be a better option. You could even opt for Discharge for spread damage, since Garchomp is immune to it, or Volt Switch to get a relatively slow pivot out to bring in your back Pokemon safely. A Life Orb is a perfectly viable item here, but you could also look into the Electrium Z just to nuke said Milotic or Water-typed sets, as well as to put big damage into things in general.
In the back, over Minior you could try something like Mega Salamence if you're interested in going for a more offensive route, or Celesteela if you're interested in a more defensive backup. Intimidate goes a long way in preserving Pokemon on your side, especially if the AI plays like a cretin most of the time; Mega Salamence is also Flying-type, which means that if Garchomp is still up when Vikavolt goes down (or has to switch), it's not going to get hit by Earthquake. It also moves fast—faster than any of Wally's Pokemon, at least—and can put in surprisingly huge amounts of damage with Double-Edge. Once Pokebank comes out, you could also try Hyper Voice for powerful spread damage in that regard—though I suspect that after Pokebank comes out, Vikavolt would be outclassed as a lead by something like Zapdos, so you'd have to restructure your team again. Also notable is that Mega Salamence shares a Rock-type weakness with Vikavolt, so stuff like Aerodactyl could be really threatening, especially if Wally's two Rock resists play stupidly as usual.
Similarly, Celesteela shares a Fire-type weakness with Vikavolt, but this is perhaps a little better because most Fire-types are Earthquaked into oblivion by Garchomp most of the time, and the ones that aren't (Charizard-3, Magmortar-3/-4, etc) can be sorted with smart play. For example, Charizard-3's Heat Waves can be PP stalled with Celesteela's Wide Guard, while Magmortar's Air Balloon can be popped by Vikavolt, which outruns it with 252+ Speed, or just flat-out murdered with a Gigavolt Havoc. On that note, a Timid Thunderbolt Gigavolt Havoc has a 9/16 chance to OHKO Magmortar-3/-4, or you could (cheekily) run ZAP CANNON just to use for Gigavolt Havoc, since the last slot's a filler move anyway.
252 SpA Vikavolt Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Magmortar: 169-199 (92.8 - 109.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO (Thunderbolt)
252 SpA Vikavolt Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Magmortar: 184-217 (101 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO (ZAP CANNON)
As usual I've gone on for too long, but I hope you find at least some of this useful. Good luck in the Battle Tree!!
Here's my completed Super Doubles streak of 228 wins!
The loss, and my dissection of how things went down:
TPQW-WWWW-WWW4-4YHT
Turn 1 - Should've doubled up on Scizor; no priority to worry about with Porygon.
Turn 2 - Again, should've doubled up on Scizor to KO; Porygon gets outsped by both Koko and Kartana.
Turn 3 - Switch out to Kartana was unnecessarily aggressive; would've been KO'd if Zam targeted me as well. Thought Protecting Pelipper was a good play in hindsight, too hung up on it being Mega Zam, which was why I wanted to preserve Fake Out too. Since it wasn't Mega though, letting Pelipper go down would allow Koko more time under rain, outspeeding and KO'ing with Thunder.
Turn 4 - Why target a heavily damaged Scizor? He was the least of my worries compared to Zam.
Turn 5 - Regret preserving Raichu now I see Bisharp, + the possibility of Zam having Inner Focus.
Turn 6 - Didn't Protect Kartana as I thought Zam would want to finish off Raichu.
Turn 7 - Had to go for Thunder outside Rain to try and OHKO Zam. Would've been interesting if it were just Koko and Bisharp left; sets 3+4 both carry Sucker Punch, so I couldn't tell which one it was. 3 has a 50% chance of being OHKO'd by Volt Switch, both get dunked on by Thunder. I'd lean more towards risking the latter to cover for bulkier Bisharp4; would it be more inclined to Metal Burst right off the bat?
The team for reference:
I'm not going to immediately try again with this exact same team; waiting for Bank's release is most likely in my best interests, as it'll probably spark some welcome inspiration and theorymonning for me. Just last night I came up with a different Doubles strategy that looks pretty solid on paper, so watch this space! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, and best of luck to all taking on the Battle Tree.
\\
Most other battles played out pretty straightforward, so I didn't bother saving many along the way. Here's No. 155 though [MJKG-WWWW-WWW4-346G], an interesting one where I didn't take any damage except for one round of LO recoil.
{Closing comment} Pelipper.... I'm so proud of you.... *insert SM's soft flute track* *sheds tear*
The loss, and my dissection of how things went down:
TPQW-WWWW-WWW4-4YHT
Turn 1 - Should've doubled up on Scizor; no priority to worry about with Porygon.
Turn 2 - Again, should've doubled up on Scizor to KO; Porygon gets outsped by both Koko and Kartana.
Turn 3 - Switch out to Kartana was unnecessarily aggressive; would've been KO'd if Zam targeted me as well. Thought Protecting Pelipper was a good play in hindsight, too hung up on it being Mega Zam, which was why I wanted to preserve Fake Out too. Since it wasn't Mega though, letting Pelipper go down would allow Koko more time under rain, outspeeding and KO'ing with Thunder.
Turn 4 - Why target a heavily damaged Scizor? He was the least of my worries compared to Zam.
Turn 5 - Regret preserving Raichu now I see Bisharp, + the possibility of Zam having Inner Focus.
Turn 6 - Didn't Protect Kartana as I thought Zam would want to finish off Raichu.
Turn 7 - Had to go for Thunder outside Rain to try and OHKO Zam. Would've been interesting if it were just Koko and Bisharp left; sets 3+4 both carry Sucker Punch, so I couldn't tell which one it was. 3 has a 50% chance of being OHKO'd by Volt Switch, both get dunked on by Thunder. I'd lean more towards risking the latter to cover for bulkier Bisharp4; would it be more inclined to Metal Burst right off the bat?
The team for reference:
A difficult matchup to be sure, but made no less easier by shoddy turn-by-turn decisions. Pretty disappointed with the ugly loss, but overall I'm still really impressed with how this team performed; Fake Out Raichu + Volt Switch Koko is such a good combo to lead with, have something solid to pivot into and you'll be able to take on the majority of what the Tree throws at you with aplomb. I encourage anyone tackling Super Doubles to try it out if you're a fan of hyper offensive playstyles; I sure had a lot fun with it, especially considering I was able to use rehashed Raichu & Pelipper, mons that saw very little usage (if any) in Gen 6's Maison. It feels rather refreshing in a way not using beasts like Dragonite, Aegislash, and Megas in general this time around, rather giving less utilized mons a chance in the spotlight. Don't get me wrong though, once Bank gets updated I'll be transferring my beloved Nite, Aegi, and shiny Bagon among others; they're Battle Facility staples for a reason (numerous people have been using them to good success here already), so I'm looking forward to becoming reacquainted with them myself.
Tapu Koko ("Glen Koko") @ Life Orb
Nature: Timid
Ability: Electric Surge
IVs: 31/31/x/31/x/x (Bottle Capped)
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunder
- Protect
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Alolan Raichu (F) ("Gnarly Carly") @ Focus Sash
Nature: Modest
Ability: Surge Surfer
IVs: x/x/31/x/x/31 (Bottle Capped)
- Fake Out
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Grass Knot
188 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Pelipper (F) ("Birdemic") @ Electric Seed
Nature: Modest
Ability: Drizzle
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
- Scald
- Hurricane
- Protect
- Tailwind
140 HP / 4 Def / 132 SpA / 4 SpD / 228 Spe
Kartana ("Horrorgami") @ Steelium Z
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Beast Boost
IVs: x/31/31/31/x/x (Bottle Capped)
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike {Corkscrew Crash}
- Sacred Sword
- Protect
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
I'm not going to immediately try again with this exact same team; waiting for Bank's release is most likely in my best interests, as it'll probably spark some welcome inspiration and theorymonning for me. Just last night I came up with a different Doubles strategy that looks pretty solid on paper, so watch this space! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, and best of luck to all taking on the Battle Tree.
\\
Most other battles played out pretty straightforward, so I didn't bother saving many along the way. Here's No. 155 though [MJKG-WWWW-WWW4-346G], an interesting one where I didn't take any damage except for one round of LO recoil.
{Closing comment} Pelipper.... I'm so proud of you.... *insert SM's soft flute track* *sheds tear*
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- Unfortunately bug bite and superpower are not available until bank but as u said they r really better.
- I really dont like gastrodon because of the 68 def, it cant stall strong mons that hit neutral properly. I say this because i used gastrodon in the past and its average for higher streaks.
- And poison types r not really a problem since Im using soak + toxic stall and scizor is a steel type.
I don't know but maybe i should reformulate this team completely? I really like dragonite and scizor sinergy and the water pokemon could be replaced by a fairy. Are fairies better than water to team with dragon-Steel ?
There are some pros and cons to both. Fairy types provide immunity to Dragon type attacks which is very valuable when your Dragon is in a pinch or slower along with SE STAB to hit back which is nice because Steel types usually have issues taking down Dragon types alone because of coverage moves. They struggle in dealing with Fire and Steel types though. They also help deal with Fighting types that threaten your Steel.
Water has no issue with the Fire types, but provides very little added benefit other than a non-STAB Ice Beam.
Fairy is typically a lot better because the Dragon immunity helps keep the team from getting worn down when checking other Dragon types. There's only so many times a Water type can switch into a Dragon and scare it out before it is in KO range. You can always get the best of both by using Tapu Fini, Azumarill or Primarina.
Kommo-o, Charizard-X and Garchomp are in my opinion the best Dragon types for the core because they provide a STAB option for dealing with opposing Steel types. Garchomp provides an additional electric immunity if you use a Fairy/Water as the third. Need to be careful using Charizard-X because of the shared EQ weakness with most Steel types, so best to have the 3rd be a Fairy+Flying/Levitator, or use a Steel type with Levitate or secondary Flying type like Skarmory. At the very least, use a non-EQ weak Steel type like Scizor.
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Garchomp seems very appealing but it changes my strategy completely, maybe a scarf set not leading teaming with celesteela and a fairy mon that deals with ice and dragon. I'll check if there r similar teams here, I don't really know how much Celesteela can stall in battle tree.
I used to use a Dragonite/Aegislash/Tapu Fini team, but I've made a switch to Garchomp/Scizor/Tapu Fini. You can read about the team a couple pages back if you're interested. Since I used to use Dragonite, I'll share some of my thoughts that you may find useful.
I was worried about the lack of Dragon Dance when I went from Dragonite to Garchomp too, but I don't ever want to go back now. I found Dragonite to be very underwhelming. EQ without STAB doesn't hit as hard as I would like and virtually forces you to lock yourself into Outrage. When faced with status users, sure you can get a free boost while consuming the Lum Berry, but the resulting Outrage confusion afterwards will force a switch anyway, so it's kind of wasted. Jolly Garchomp is fast enough to set up a Sub in front of almost all status users which gets you a free +2 Swords Dance boost and makes it very easy to sweep combined with a STAB EQ. I also found Adamant Dragonite's Speed to be quite lacking at +1 without picking up any meaningful KO's so I switched to a max Speed Jolly set before making the jump to Garchomp. Max Speed Jolly hits a conveniently empty Speed tier of 217 at +1. This outruns even Sand Rush Excadrill which lands at 216. I found the extra Speed from Jolly helped me pick up more easy KO's at +1 vs the fast, frail Pokémon. Gengar4(Mega-Gengar) for example is a huge problem for an Adamant Dragonite lead, but the Jolly Dragonite poops on it by being faster at +1.
Scizor can check all the Ice types with ease if you run more bulk. I've been having a lot of success with a bulky 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SpD Scizor running Swords Dance/Roost/Bullet Punch/U-turn(filler). It can boost to +6 vs virtually anything. More details about the set on my team post.
I think Primarina, Tapu Fini and Tapu Lele are the best Fairy options available now. I like Tapu Fini because of the status immunity, but Tapu Lele is interesting too because of the better power and speed.
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Ghostium Z Mimikyu as well, although it shouldn't switch into anything.
I've used Specs Primarina on a few runs and... well, its Moonblast hits like a truck, so much you don't tend to rely on Hydro Pump (I'm considering swapping it with Scald because there are not really many situations I can say I need it), and it has nice coverage. Ferrothorn's rarity in the Battle Tree means you don't really need to run HP Fire and you can go with Psychic and Ice Beam.